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ACC publicly reprimands ref who ejected ex-NC State stars

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Mike Miller

Chris Corchiani and Tom Gugliotta may have been aggravated N.C. State fans, but that doesn’t mean Saturday’s ejection was handled correctly.

Two days after the former Wolfpack stars were ejected from a game, the ACC publicly reprimanded the official who tossed them. Official Karl Hess did not follow proper procedure when removing the pair from the stands. Instead of asking management to remove them, Hess called for security himself. As a result, an officer from the Raleigh Police Department removed them.

“Karl Hess is one of the best on-court officials in college basketball, but the ACC has established a game management protocol, which allows the opportunity to potentially diffuse any situations before they reach the level of ejection,” ACC commissioner John Swofford said in the statement. “His reprimand is a result of a failure to follow that protocol.

“We have to depend on our officials and their judgments; and the explanation from Karl Hess regarding this matter has been shared with the ACC and N.C. State University.”

Hess never specified why he had Corchiani and Gugliotta ejected, though Corchiani later tweeted that Hess “didn’t like fact Googs and I told him he was having a bad day, inconsistent, and telling the truth.”

In an added twist, the pair will among those honored by N.C. State at Tuesday’s game.

You also can follow me on Twitter @MikeMillerNBC.